Nick McWilliams reporting – Moving forward into February, the Uhrichsville Service Department could be without its leader soon.
According to Mayor Mark Haney, Service Director Belle Everett has expressed her desire to retire.
Everett, who was not at the latest council meeting, has not given a timeline of when she expects to step away from the role, according to Haney.
“My plan is to hire an additional person in the future, because Belle is retiring. She’s made that very clear to me, and a lot of people in this room know that. And I’d like to get somebody in here and get them trained before she leaves, so that I have somebody in place to take the reins and keep moving forward.”
It could be the second key leadership role that might be open in the city, as Uhrichsville is still searching for a new auditor.
Haney also is asking for the director position to be moved to a full-time role, as he says Everett has been working well over 40 hours a week, despite the position’s description only calling for roughly 20 hours per week.
In some service related news, the city will pay a $5,000 insurance deductible to address damage in the Clay Museum on Main Street, with a damage report showing more issues than were first believed following a water line leak that led to flooding.
“We are going to have to cut part of the floor out and refinish it. There’s been a lengthy amount of discussion on this on what to do. There was back-and-forth with [Dennison Railroad Depot Museum Executive Director Wendy] Zucal [Thursday] on how much stuff is going to have to be moved. It looks like a majority of the stuff is going to have to be moved out of that first floor so they can remove a sizable portion of the hardwood floor.”
The city will reportedly not have to pay the water bill from Twin City Water and Sewer due to the leak, which led to over 300,000 gallons of usage and flooding in the basement.
Additionally, the city is expected to move forward with a handful of housing foreclosures, which could clear the way for future development and improvements with the Westside Park, and three companies could soon be placing developments in the McCauley Drive area.
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